Where to go from here

[James Crivellone]

I am debating if I shoudl keep doing small upgrades, or hold out and go all out on my engine swap.

Here are the specs of my car

1986 BMW 325
Sport Seats
89 325i Instrument Cluster
Complete Sport Package Interior Swap (minus powered sunroof)
Euro Elipsoids, Euro Grills
3.73LSD
M20B25 Throttle Body+Intake Manifold
Jim C Chip
M20B27 Block + Head
ZF Auto.
Shitty American Racing Rims
Stock Suspension
New Rotors+Pads 12,000 ago

My goals for down the road, is 2.8L Low Compression Rebuild, Manual Tranny Swap, and complete Mtech1 Exterior + Repaint then turbo. I WILL be keeping the car for many more years, so I am not concerned with how much I get back from selling it. These parts are for my enjoyment :)


Spare Parts that I currently have

Complete 1989 325I Drivetrain, Engine + Tranny + Diff, all electronics, everything I need for a swap, 210,000 miles, unknown running condition. Plus tons of random parts.


Now the question, my car needs a repaint, the wheels are awful ricy looking things (tires have good tread though, so not a BIG deal to me yet. clearcoat is peeling from a repaint on the hood, fender and passenger door. a big deal to me, but not enough to make me hate my car. The current engine/tranny have 198,000 miles on em, but they run great, no mechanical issues at all currently, and I drive it like a bat out of hell (at least as much as my ETA will allow me) I also plan on going the full MTECh1 Exterior as well (then a repaint)


soooo, should I continue buying small parts, such as stainless steel brake lines, new suspension, alpina koni',s ES100 tires etc. or should I just build up my 2.8L Engine and do a tranny swap this summer?.


I am leaning toward engine+tranny, as I have a majority of the parts needed for the swap. However I am not sure of the condition of my tranny, (although used trannys are not THAT expensive)

I have around 800 bucks right now, so shoudl I keep saving for the swap, or keep buying the little things? that is the question

thanks guys :) e30's forever

Also, for the NW WA guys, who shoudl I talk to for the actual engine work, IE machine work... Plus I am not sure if I want to assemble the bottom end myself, so who would I discuss my plans with then? TedI am kinda asking you this, as you have a 3.0. You or Matt at least :)

[BS87]

All i can say is good luck on the Mtech 1 kit.... they are rare to say the least.

[James Crivellone]

All i can say is good luck on the Mtech 1 kit.... they are rare to say the least.

yeah I know, that is one of the hardest things to find on my list, however even if it takes me 6 years to find it, I will find it :)

[Super Eta]

James, Can you post up some pictures of your car so everyone else can get an idea of what it looks like now?

[James Crivellone]

James, Can you post up some pictures of your car so everyone else can get an idea of what it looks like now?

I will get some tommorrow, don't have any currrent ones

[KenC]

All i can say is good luck on the Mtech 1 kit.... they are rare to say the least.

Check with Greg. Also check european e30 forums. They're much less rare in Europe. I know a guy with an Mtech1 front airdam, but I'm uncertain as to whether I'm going to purchase it.

[SlammedE30]

I had Mike Kolbet at Kirkland Auto parts do my machine work. He is awesome and He does some amazing work. Kirkland Auto Parts is right off of NE 85th in Kirkland. PM me for more info.
-Ted

[Digitalwave]

Re: Where to go from here

soooo, should I continue buying small parts, such as stainless steel brake lines, new suspension, alpina koni',s ES100 tires etc. or should I just build up my 2.8L Engine and do a tranny swap this summer?.

Well... I would have to say getting the brakes, suspension, and tires sorted is a high priority before you add a lot of power.

But my advice would be to sell that car and start out with a clean late mode 5 speedl that doesn't need a respray. Unless you are that dead set on an M-tech I kit. Your chassis has a lot of miles, the donor engine has a lot of miles, and it seems like your car needs a lot of work. It might be easier in the long run...

[grapedrink]

Re: Where to go from here

Well... I would have to say getting the brakes, suspension, and tires sorted is a high priority before you add a lot of power.

But my advice would be to sell that car and start out with a clean late mode 5 speedl that doesn't need a respray. Unless you are that dead set on an M-tech I kit. Your chassis has a lot of miles, the donor engine has a lot of miles, and it seems like your car needs a lot of work. It might be easier in the long run...

i agree. if you are set on this car then stop with the little stuff and work on the engine. you will always find money to do the small stuff. for building the motor send it to my work. we build bmw and some of the fastest porsches motors in the country. our website is in my signature.

[James Crivellone]

Re: Where to go from here

soooo, should I continue buying small parts, such as stainless steel brake lines, new suspension, alpina koni',s ES100 tires etc. or should I just build up my 2.8L Engine and do a tranny swap this summer?.

Well... I would have to say getting the brakes, suspension, and tires sorted is a high priority before you add a lot of power.

But my advice would be to sell that car and start out with a clean late mode 5 speedl that doesn't need a respray. Unless you are that dead set on an M-tech I kit. Your chassis has a lot of miles, the donor engine has a lot of miles, and it seems like your car needs a lot of work. It might be easier in the long run...

Finding a good condition 89+ is hard around here, and I honestly do not care for the 88 - 91 designs. they are nice, but I see lots of them.


86 and 87 are my fav years, Mtech1 looks amazing in my eyes, and its what I have been wanting to do for many years. Sure the Chassis has a few miles on it, however it is very straight, no body issues, just paint.


Donor engine has alot of miles, but oh well, thats what a rebuild is for :)


But thanks for your opinion, I think I will go for the engine + tranny work first, and take it easy until I can get brakes and suspension done.

[matt325is]

Sounds like a good plan James. I also like the mtech1 kit, and kinda wish i had the higher fenders (more tire clearance). As for the rebuild, i did all the work myself, but I sent the block down to a place called Britco in Centralia, they do all automotive machining, and do very good work. I am sure they also do blueprinting and rebuilding as well.

Good luck, sounds like I may have some competition in the future 8)

later

matt

[James Crivellone]

Thanks guy, and Matt and Ted, I will give those places a call, and discuss a few things with em.




btw Matt, its your car that I have been following considering turbo work, so thanks for publishing so much info on it as you went. helped a bit :)

that and seeing your car in person made me realize what I wanted to do.

long live the M20